Senior Lecturer in Management, Director of Postgraduate Research Students (Management Studies)

Sarah Hartley joined the Business school in 2016 as Senior Lecturer in Management. Sarah is an interdisciplinary social scientist working closely with natural scientists, engineers, regulators and policy-makers. Her research and teaching revolves around the responsible governance of science, technology and innovation as it moves from the lab to commercialisation. She takes a qualitative methodological approach to understand the factors that shape the innovation process for emerging technologies, particularly the biotechnologies including GM insects, gene drive, and genome-editing. In addition, Sarah explores responsible research and innovation at a policy and institutional level. Sarah has advised the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology on GM insects and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on genome-editing. She is currently collaborating with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to improve stakeholder engagement.

Sarah obtained a PhD in Politics and Environmental Studies with a specialisation in Public Policy from the University of Toronto in 2005. She has an MSc (distinction) in European Social Policy Analysis and a BSc (first class) in Environmental Management and Policy. After her PhD, Sarah took up a professional position at Genome British Columbia, a Canadian funding agency where she established an interdisciplinary social science research programme in genomics and engaged policy-makers, industry and other stakeholders to explore the role of genomics in addressing societal challenges. She has held positions at the Institute for Science and Society, University of Nottingham, Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics, University of British Columbia and Department of Political Science, University of Victoria.

Research clusters

Research interests

Sarah researches the responsible governance oftechnological solutions to global challenges. She explores efforts to open up governance through case studies involving global health, sustainable agriculture and food security, critically examine ways in which the trajectory of technology and innovation can be shaped by a broad range of actors, exploring the factors that facilitate or restrict these efforts in Europe, North America, Africa and South America. Her current projects examine the regulation and governance of 1] GM insects in the UK, US, Brazil and Africa in agriculture (as pest control tools) and human health (particularly in fighting dengue, malaria and zika); 2] plant genome-editing to address global challenges; 3] gene drive; and 4] human germline genome-editing. Sarah is also involved with projects developing tools and mechanisms for knowledge engagement in innovation development and governance more broadly.

Hartley S, Millar KM (2014). The Challenges of Consulting the Public on Science Policy: Examining the Development of European Risk Assessment Policy for Genetically Modified Animals. Review of Policy Research, 31(6), 481-502. Full text. DOI.

Hartley S, Scott DN (2006). Out-of-bounds? Resisting discursive limits in the debate over food biotechnology. Canadian Review of Social Policy

Chapters

Hartley S (2016). The treatment of social and ethical concerns in policy responses to agricultural biotechnology: an historical analysis. In (Ed) The intellectual property–regulatory complex: Overcoming barriers to innovation in agricultural genomics.

2016

Hartley S (2016). The treatment of social and ethical concerns in policy responses to agricultural biotechnology: an historical analysis. In (Ed) The intellectual property–regulatory complex: Overcoming barriers to innovation in agricultural genomics.

2014

Hartley S, Millar KM (2014). The Challenges of Consulting the Public on Science Policy: Examining the Development of European Risk Assessment Policy for Genetically Modified Animals. Review of Policy Research, 31(6), 481-502. Full text. DOI.